As a substitute teacher, you make a lot of your money by relying on the unpredictable. You never know when you are going to get a call asking you to sub. I've gotten calls at 5:30 in the morning and 10:00 at night. You must constantly be on your toes, ready to take that call and get that job.
Scheduling days in advance is really the way to go if you can. However, there is a major problem with scheduling ahead of time: cancellations. Teachers can actually decide to teach on the day you've picked up. This understandable situation can make a struggling substitute quite upset or even irate. Not only has your paying gig been canceled, its often canceled a day before you sub, making picking up other days difficult. Although I'm a very understanding person, a canceled day has often left me feeling quite like this friendly feline.
However, it is a bad idea to get resentful if one of your days gets canceled. This just creates unneeded stress in your already stressful life. I can guess that your life is stressful: you're a substitute teacher! I think that's a fair assumption.
More importantly, though, complaining about a canceled day is simply unprofessional. Throwing a hissy fit in the office or to the person canceling the day makes you look like a spoiled child. They are likely to place you on a "don't call" list, making it more difficult for you to get days.
Instead, simply smile and nod saying that you understand that things change. Politely state that you will be willing to pick up any other days they may need. Accept their apologies and assure them that you understand. Do this even if this isn't how you actually feel. It will reassure the teacher, show off your professionalism and keep you on good terms with the school. This will give you reason to smile.
Canceled days make having a second job nearly a must with substitute teaching. I know many people who recently got their masters degrees that are struggling to find a full time college teaching position. Many of them start out teaching one or two classes at a community college and substitute teaching to fill in the blanks. You may also want to get a weekend job, if you can find the time. For example, I substitute taught only two half days this week. However, with my freelance writing job I've been able to pick up the slack and should make only fifty dollars less this week than I normally make, as long as I keep my writing consistent. You'll need an equally flexible job and this can be quite hard to find. However, if you search, you can find a flexible job that fits in well with your subbing and keeps you happy and well fed.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Freelancing the Hard Way Part One
Substitute teaching is only one of my jobs. My other job takes up less of my time but makes me more money: freelance writing. I work for at least four different websites and write for a magazine. Being a freelance writer is an exciting but worrisome job for many different reasons. The pros and cons are plenty.
The pros may be more obvious than many people are willing to admit. One pro is that you can work at home and often as much and as little as you like. Sites like Demand Studios, Associated Content, Suite101 and many other sites are willing to pay varying rates of pay to suitable writers. Many of these sites let you pick your subjects, imploring you to focus on your passion and your true loves. This can make for excellent and well informed writing. These online freelance writing jobs are perfect for people working between jobs or just looking for extra cash.
Another pro is the wide range of freelancing opportunities available. Writers can write for online sources as well as magazine. If you have a passion, that passion is likely to be published in a magazine. Magazines pay hundreds of dollars per article and getting an article accepted and seeing your name in print is a thrilling prospect.
However, there are also many cons to the freelancing business. These cons may scare away many people. For one, the market is very competitive. There are thousands, if not millions of people looking to find these types of jobs and you are likely to be turned away from at least a few sites or magazines. This can be very disheartening to the budding freelancer.
Another problem comes in working with editors. Editors vary on their style and strictness and can sometimes be needlessly harsh. Sometimes it's impossible to please them and you'll end up throwing your hands up in defeat. That highlights another problem, which is the pay. Some sites pay by page view while others pay by how many times people have clicked on your advertisements. Not having a flat pay rate for articles can make starting out hard, as you see no monetary gain until you've built up a considerable amount of work online.
The biggest problem and concern that I've run into is that freelance work is often not taxed. This may seem like a boon until tax time: you have to pay in a significant amount of that money every year. That fact alone may scare off many budding freelancers.
I don't mean to scare off people with this post. In fact, I think freelancing is one of the most adventurous and exciting ways to make money while sitting at home. I make over half of my income sittingt in my pajamas for eight hours a day writing. I take frequent breaks, work out, listen to music and answer only to myself and my editors. Try out a few writing sources and see if it works for you. Check out sites like Freelance Writing Gigs. These sites post listings for writers, editors and even copywriters.
Picture licensed to Wikimedia Commons.
The pros may be more obvious than many people are willing to admit. One pro is that you can work at home and often as much and as little as you like. Sites like Demand Studios, Associated Content, Suite101 and many other sites are willing to pay varying rates of pay to suitable writers. Many of these sites let you pick your subjects, imploring you to focus on your passion and your true loves. This can make for excellent and well informed writing. These online freelance writing jobs are perfect for people working between jobs or just looking for extra cash.
Another pro is the wide range of freelancing opportunities available. Writers can write for online sources as well as magazine. If you have a passion, that passion is likely to be published in a magazine. Magazines pay hundreds of dollars per article and getting an article accepted and seeing your name in print is a thrilling prospect.
However, there are also many cons to the freelancing business. These cons may scare away many people. For one, the market is very competitive. There are thousands, if not millions of people looking to find these types of jobs and you are likely to be turned away from at least a few sites or magazines. This can be very disheartening to the budding freelancer.
Another problem comes in working with editors. Editors vary on their style and strictness and can sometimes be needlessly harsh. Sometimes it's impossible to please them and you'll end up throwing your hands up in defeat. That highlights another problem, which is the pay. Some sites pay by page view while others pay by how many times people have clicked on your advertisements. Not having a flat pay rate for articles can make starting out hard, as you see no monetary gain until you've built up a considerable amount of work online.
The biggest problem and concern that I've run into is that freelance work is often not taxed. This may seem like a boon until tax time: you have to pay in a significant amount of that money every year. That fact alone may scare off many budding freelancers.
I don't mean to scare off people with this post. In fact, I think freelancing is one of the most adventurous and exciting ways to make money while sitting at home. I make over half of my income sittingt in my pajamas for eight hours a day writing. I take frequent breaks, work out, listen to music and answer only to myself and my editors. Try out a few writing sources and see if it works for you. Check out sites like Freelance Writing Gigs. These sites post listings for writers, editors and even copywriters.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tales from Subsitute Teaching Part One
Hello blogosphere! I should briefly introduce myself: call me Mr. Benac. It's what my students call me. This is my first post in a blog that will go into great details on the ins and outs of being a substitute teacher, online freelance writer, failed musician and all around nice guy. I am going to use this blog to vent a little about some humorous and serious moments in my multiple careers. I hope to entertain and inform and maybe help some people feel a bit better about themselves.
The focus of this first post will be on the basics of substitute teaching. First thing first, I should admit I hold a master's degree in writing from Northern Michigan University. This degree gives me the ability to teach at community colleges. However, I need a teaching certificate to teach elementary or high school. In financial desperation, I began substitute teaching.
There are many things I can say about being a substitute teacher, both positive and negative. I'll focus on the negative first to get it out of the way. First, the pay isn't incredible. I make 80 dollars for a full day and 40 dollars for a half day. If I worked five full days a week, I could make 1,600 a month before taxes. There are districts that offer a pay rate, true but 1,600 a month is well below the poverty line. The grim truth is that I still make more money freelance writing online than I do subbing.
Inconsistency is another huge problem. Some weeks, I'll get multiple calls a day and I'm filled to the brim with days. Other weeks, I don't get calls for days. I am lucky to be a freelance writer. I can pick up the slack by writing for one of my websites and still make as much money as I'd like. However, this isn't an advantage every substitute teacher will have available.
Substitute teachers also get no respect from their students. I substitute teach in a small town, so many of the students know me well and respect me for that. However, going to a new school or class is always a crap shoot. You may get a great class that is very respectful and listens to what you say. The next day, you'll run into a wild class that assumes you are a complete idiot. They forget that you know their names and can write notes to the teacher, indicating poor behavior. They will try to get things past you, ridiculous things, such as "Mrs. Smith lets us make out in class!" Unfortunately, you can never really trust most of the students.
However, there are many positives to being a substitute teacher. For example, it's perfect training for budding teachers. You have to think on your feet constantly and get many opportunities to help students, if you can. You can find whether you are right for the teaching profession before jumping in wholeheartedly. I think I could pull it off, myself and I'm glad that I took the chance to try it out.
Another huge advantage is the ability to pick and choose when you work. Naturally, if you aren't getting calls you won't be working. However, I've found that low call days are pretty rare. I live in an area of the world that has less than 30,000 people in a hundred mile square area. However, I am substitute teaching four days this week. Become good friends with the secretaries of each school and you should be filled up with work. However, if you need to go out of town or want to take a break, simply don't take calls for the day. There are always subs to take your place.
Last, but not least the pay isn't nearly as low as it seems. At first I thought 80 dollars for seven and a half hours was really low but then I started subbing regularly. As a sub, you will have about five to five and a half hours of actual time with the students. The other times will be lunch periods, recess for elementary, prep periods for high school or special classes where you don't supervise the children such as art or library. This makes the pay much better. If I get a big break, I often go for a walk to get some exercise or work on my online writing job. I've also run errands, such as grocery shopping. The schools don't mind if you leave and generally assume you will.
Think of these pros and cons carefully before you consider a substitute teaching position. These are just some of the major pros and cons available. My next post will focus on the pros and cons of freelance writing, which is still my main bread winner. Subsequent posts will focus on either of my jobs or on the ways I keep myself entertained. Thanks for reading!
Mr. Benac
The focus of this first post will be on the basics of substitute teaching. First thing first, I should admit I hold a master's degree in writing from Northern Michigan University. This degree gives me the ability to teach at community colleges. However, I need a teaching certificate to teach elementary or high school. In financial desperation, I began substitute teaching.
There are many things I can say about being a substitute teacher, both positive and negative. I'll focus on the negative first to get it out of the way. First, the pay isn't incredible. I make 80 dollars for a full day and 40 dollars for a half day. If I worked five full days a week, I could make 1,600 a month before taxes. There are districts that offer a pay rate, true but 1,600 a month is well below the poverty line. The grim truth is that I still make more money freelance writing online than I do subbing.
Inconsistency is another huge problem. Some weeks, I'll get multiple calls a day and I'm filled to the brim with days. Other weeks, I don't get calls for days. I am lucky to be a freelance writer. I can pick up the slack by writing for one of my websites and still make as much money as I'd like. However, this isn't an advantage every substitute teacher will have available.
Substitute teachers also get no respect from their students. I substitute teach in a small town, so many of the students know me well and respect me for that. However, going to a new school or class is always a crap shoot. You may get a great class that is very respectful and listens to what you say. The next day, you'll run into a wild class that assumes you are a complete idiot. They forget that you know their names and can write notes to the teacher, indicating poor behavior. They will try to get things past you, ridiculous things, such as "Mrs. Smith lets us make out in class!" Unfortunately, you can never really trust most of the students.
However, there are many positives to being a substitute teacher. For example, it's perfect training for budding teachers. You have to think on your feet constantly and get many opportunities to help students, if you can. You can find whether you are right for the teaching profession before jumping in wholeheartedly. I think I could pull it off, myself and I'm glad that I took the chance to try it out.
Another huge advantage is the ability to pick and choose when you work. Naturally, if you aren't getting calls you won't be working. However, I've found that low call days are pretty rare. I live in an area of the world that has less than 30,000 people in a hundred mile square area. However, I am substitute teaching four days this week. Become good friends with the secretaries of each school and you should be filled up with work. However, if you need to go out of town or want to take a break, simply don't take calls for the day. There are always subs to take your place.
Last, but not least the pay isn't nearly as low as it seems. At first I thought 80 dollars for seven and a half hours was really low but then I started subbing regularly. As a sub, you will have about five to five and a half hours of actual time with the students. The other times will be lunch periods, recess for elementary, prep periods for high school or special classes where you don't supervise the children such as art or library. This makes the pay much better. If I get a big break, I often go for a walk to get some exercise or work on my online writing job. I've also run errands, such as grocery shopping. The schools don't mind if you leave and generally assume you will.
Think of these pros and cons carefully before you consider a substitute teaching position. These are just some of the major pros and cons available. My next post will focus on the pros and cons of freelance writing, which is still my main bread winner. Subsequent posts will focus on either of my jobs or on the ways I keep myself entertained. Thanks for reading!
Mr. Benac
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)